Zhongyuan

{{Other uses}} {{More citations needed|date=May 2021}} {{Infobox settlement | name = Zhongyuan | native_name = {{nobold|{{lang|zh|中原}}}} | other_name = Chungyuan, Central Plain | image_skyline = | image_map = Central Plain, China.jpg | image_caption = | map_caption = Map showing the province of Henan and two definitions of the Central Plain or Zhongyuan | subdivision_type = Country | subdivision_name = China | subdivision_type1 = Province | subdivision_name1 = | subdivision_type2 = | subdivision_name2 = |parts = Henan<br/>Parts of Shandong, Hebei, Shanxi, Shaanxi, and Anhui |parts_type = Provinces | population_metro = | area_metro_km2 = | area_metro_sq_mi = | population_total = | population_note = | population_as_of = | population_footnotes = | population_density_metro_km2 = | population_density_metro_sq_mi = }}

'''Zhongyuan''' ({{zh|c=中原|p=Zhōngyuán}}, formerly romanized as '''Chungyuan'''), the '''Central Plain(s)''', also known as '''Zhongtu''' ({{zh|c=中土|p=Zhōngtǔ}}, lit. 'central land') and '''Zhongzhou''' ({{zh|c=中州|p=Zhōngzhōu}}, lit. 'central region'), commonly refers to the part of the North China Plain surrounding the lower and middle reaches of the Yellow River, centered on the region between Luoyang and Kaifeng.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Yeqiu|first=Wu|author2=Zeyan Huang|author3=Qiuyun Liu|title=Ciyuan|date=1996|publisher=Shangwu Yinshuguan|isbn=7-100-00124-2|pages=5–11|oclc=475148039}}</ref> It has been perceived as the birthplace of the Chinese civilization.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Duara|first=Prasenjit|title=Sovereignty and authenticity: Manchukuo and the East Asian modern|date=2003|isbn=0-7425-2577-5|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishers|location=Lanham|pages=7|oclc=50755038}}</ref> Historically, the Huaxia people viewed Zhongyuan as 'the center of the world'.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Zhang|first1=Xin-bin|last2=张新斌|date=2007|title=中原文化与商都初论 Initial Remark on the Central Plains Culture and the Shang Dynasty-Capital Culture|url=https://www.cnki.com.cn/Article/CJFDTEMP-HUKJ200704005.htm|journal=Journal of Huanghe S&T University|issue=4|pages=17–24|doi=10.19576/j.issn.1008-5424.2007.04.006|via=}}</ref> Human activities in the Zhongyuan region can be traced back to the Palaeolithic period.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Bar-Yosef|first1=Ofer|last2=Wang|first2=Youping|date=2012|title=Paleolithic Archaeology in China|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/23270714|journal=Annual Review of Anthropology|volume=41|pages=319–335|doi=10.1146/annurev-anthro-092611-145832|jstor=23270714|issn=0084-6570|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

In prehistoric times, Huaxia, a confederation of tribes that later developed into the Han ethnicity, lived along the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Cioffi-Revilla|first1=Claudio|last2=Lai|first2=David|date=1995|title=War and Politics in Ancient China, 2700 B.C. to 722 B.C.: Measurement and Comparative Analysis|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/174577|journal=The Journal of Conflict Resolution|volume=39|issue=3|pages=467–494|doi=10.1177/0022002795039003004|jstor=174577|s2cid=156043981|issn=0022-0027|url-access=subscription}}</ref> The term 'Zhongguo' (Central State) was used to distinguish themselves from the Siyi tribes that were perceived as 'barbaric'.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Holcombe|first=Charles|title=A history of East Asia: from the origins of civilization to the twenty-first century|date=2011|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-51595-5|location=New York|oclc=643762927}}</ref> For a large part of Chinese history, Zhongyuan had been the political, economic, and cultural center of the Chinese civilization, as over 20 dynasties had located their capitals in this region.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Zhaoguang|first=Ge|date=2018-01-02|title=The "interior" and the "exterior" in historical China: A re-clarification of the concepts of "China" and the "periphery"|url=https://doi.org/10.1080/00094633.2018.1467668|journal=Chinese Studies in History|volume=51|issue=1|pages=4–28|doi=10.1080/00094633.2018.1467668|s2cid=165289885|issn=0009-4633|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

In the modern concept, the term 'Central Plains Region' is used to define the Zhongyuan area. In a narrow sense, it refers to the present-day Henan Province in the central part of China. A broader interpretation of the Central Plains' measure would also include Henan's neighborhood provinces, Shaanxi, Hebei, Shanxi, and Shandong, as well as the northern part of Anhui and the northwestern part of Jiangsu.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Xianglong|first1=Yu|title=中国民间图形创意设计 Chinese Folk Graphics Creative Design|last2=喻湘龙|publisher=Guangxi Fine Arts Publishing House|year=2004|isbn=7-80674-440-1|pages=10}}</ref>

== Geography == The north, west, and south sides of Zhongyuan are encircled by mountains, predominantly the Taihang Mountains from the northwestern side, Funiu and Xionger Mountains to the west. The central and eastern areas of Zhongyuan form part of the North China Plain. The Yellow River flows through the region from west to east. The Huai River and Hai River, as well as Tributaries of the Yangtze River, also pass through Zhongyuan. Since ancient times, Zhongyuan has been a strategically important site of China, regarded as 'The center and hub of the world'.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Sha|first1=Hsueh-chuen|title=地理学论文集 Discourses on Geography Studies|last2=沙學浚|publisher=The Commercial Press Taiwan|year=1972|isbn=957-05-0976-7|location=Taiwan|pages=11|oclc=813452544}}</ref>

The alluvial deposits of the Yellow River formed the vast plains of Zhongyuan in the Palaeozoic period.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Lattimore|first=Owen|date=1947|title=An Inner Asian Approach to the Historical Geography of China|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1789948|journal=The Geographical Journal|volume=110|issue=4/6|pages=180–187|doi=10.2307/1789948|jstor=1789948|bibcode=1947GeogJ.110..180L |issn=0016-7398|url-access=subscription}}</ref> The region has sufficient water resources for plant growth, making it the center of the Chinese agrarian civilization, known as the 'Breadbasket of China'.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Yin|first1=Fang|last2=Sun|first2=Zhanli|last3=You|first3=Liangzhi|last4=Müller|first4=Daniel|date=2018-09-03|title=Increasing concentration of major crops in China from 1980 to 2011|journal=Journal of Land Use Science|volume=13|issue=5|pages=480–493|doi=10.1080/1747423X.2019.1567838|s2cid=155620753|issn=1747-423X|doi-access=free|bibcode=2018JLUS...13..480Y |hdl=10419/194587|hdl-access=free}}</ref>

Zhongyuan has a temperate monsoon climate with distinct seasons. It is usually hot and humid during the summer, cold and dry in the winter.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Kwon|first1=Jong-Wook|last2=Shan|first2=Chuanxuan|date=2012|title=Climate and Work Values: A Comparison of Cold, Warm, and Hot Regions in China|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41682273|journal=MIR: Management International Review|volume=52|issue=4|pages=541–564|doi=10.1007/s11575-011-0120-1|jstor=41682273|s2cid=154565578|issn=0938-8249|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

== Definition == The concept of Zhongyuan had often been changing in different historical periods, under different contexts. The term ''Zhongyuan'' first appeared in the ''Classic of Poetry''<ref>Examples such as "中原有菽，庶民采之"; "瞻彼中原，其祁孔有".</ref> not specifying any exact geographic locations.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Hua|first1=Feng|last2=华峰|date=2002|title=从《诗经》看中原文化 Culture of Zhong Yuan Viewed from the Book of Poetry|url=https://chn.oversea.cnki.net/KCMS/detail/detail.aspx?dbcode=CJFD&dbname=CJFD2002&filename=HZJX200201012&v=YGz0QDP%25mmd2B1msHX12WXXmkUBYTpxS3RU8lHbiMnIEkiECRKYU2FTYOaFg0K45Zaokj|journal=Journal of Henan Education Institute (Philosophy and Social Science)|volume=1|issue=21|pages=43–49|issn=|via=CNKI}}</ref> It was during the Spring and Autumn period (770–476 BC) that the word came to denote the Central Plains region. Only until the Northern and Southern dynasties (420–589 AD) onward, the term 'Zhongyuan' were widely accepted as a geographical concept.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Xue|first1=Ruize|last2=薛瑞泽|date=2005|title=中原地区概念的形成 Formation of the Concept of the Central Plains|url=http://www.cnki.com.cn/Article/CJFD2005-XGZZ200505003.htm|journal=Root Exploration|issue=5|pages=10–12|via=CNKI|archive-date=2022-05-19|access-date=2021-05-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220519030533/http://www.cnki.com.cn/Article/CJFD2005-XGZZ200505003.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The geographical view of Zhongyuan may depict different regions. It usually refers to the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River, but sometimes also encompasses the reaches along the Yangtze and Huai River, and even the whole North China Plain.

Apart from being a geographical location, the term 'Zhongyuan' is also used as a historical and cultural concept that represents the dominance of the Han ethnicity.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Wang|first=Q. Edward|date=1999|title=History, Space, and Ethnicity: The Chinese Worldview|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/20078782|journal=Journal of World History|volume=10|issue=2|pages=285–305|jstor=20078782|issn=1045-6007}}</ref>

In older texts, 'Zhongguo' ({{zhi|t=中國|l=Middle Kingdom}}) is used as a synonym for the Central Plains. Today, 'Zhongguo' refers to the country of China. Other archaic synonyms include 'Zhongtu' ({{zhi|t=中土|l=Middle Earth}}) and 'Zhongzhou' ({{zhi|c=中州|l=Middle Province}}).<ref>{{cite book | last = Li |first = Min | title = 中原文化与民族复兴 |trans-title = Central Plains Culture and National Renewal | publisher =河南人民出版社 [Henan People's Publishing House] | year = 2010 | isbn = 9787215072756 | page=7}}</ref>{{efn|The Book of Jin sometimes uses 'Zhongguo' used to mean the Central Plains: "時中國亡官失守之士避亂來者，多居顯位，駕御吳人，吳人頗怨。" It also sometimes uses 'Zhongguo' and 'Zhongyuan' differently: "嘗慷慨謂其下曰：'大丈夫生不在中國，當高光之世，與韓、彭、吳、鄧並驅中原，定天下雌雄'"}}

== History == The history of Zhongyuan can be dated back to prehistoric times. There were traces of human activities in Zhongyuan about half a million years ago. Archaeological studies have shown that as far back as 80,000 to 100,000 years ago, the ancient people of Zhongyuan were using stone tools.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Bar-Yosef|first1=Ofer|last2=Wang|first2=Youping|date=2012|title=Paleolithic Archaeology in China|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/23270714|journal=Annual Review of Anthropology|volume=41|pages=319–335|doi=10.1146/annurev-anthro-092611-145832|jstor=23270714|issn=0084-6570|url-access=subscription}}</ref> The excavation of painted pottery and stone tools found from relics of Yangshao culture (5000 to 3000 BC) and Longshan culture (3000 to 1900 BC) prove that Zhongyuan was in the forefront of Chinese civilization throughout the Stone Age.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Zhimin|first=An|date=1988|title=Archaeological Research on Neolithic China|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/2743616|journal=Current Anthropology|volume=29|issue=5|pages=753–759|doi=10.1086/203698|jstor=2743616|s2cid=144920735|issn=0011-3204|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

After the rise of Erlitou culture (1900 to 1500 BC), Zhongyuan entered the Bronze Age.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Allan|first=Sarah|date=2007|title=Erlitou and the Formation of Chinese Civilization: Toward a New Paradigm|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/20203165|journal=The Journal of Asian Studies|volume=66|issue=2|pages=461–496|doi=10.1017/S002191180700054X|jstor=20203165|s2cid=162264919|issn=0021-9118|url-access=subscription}}</ref> The emergence of private ownership and social classes led to the formation of the first dynasty in Chinese history, the Xia dynasty.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=HUBER|first=LOUISA G. FITZGERALD|title=The Bo Capital and Questions Concerning Xia and Early Shang|date=1988|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/23351321|journal=Early China|volume=13|pages=46–77|doi=10.1017/S0362502800005204|jstor=23351321|s2cid=146141444|issn=0362-5028|url-access=subscription}}</ref> The Xia dynasty established its regime centered on Zhongyuan, setting the tone for later dynasties to make Zhongyuan the central region.

From the rise of the Xia dynasty (c. 2070–c. 1600 BC) to the fall of the Song dynasty (960–1279), most of the legitimate dynasties established their capitals within the Zhongyuan area, except for Eastern Jin and the Southern Song. It was not until the Yuan (1271–1368) and Ming dynasties (1368–1644) that the political center of China re-located, as the Mongol Empire established the Yuan dynasty in Dadu (Khanbaliq, now Beijing).<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Biran|first=Michal|date=2015|title=The Mental Maps of Mongol Central Asia as Seen from the Mamluk Sultanate|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.13173/jasiahist.49.1-2.0031|journal=Journal of Asian History|volume=49|issue=1–2|pages=31–51|doi=10.13173/jasiahist.49.1-2.0031|jstor=10.13173/jasiahist.49.1-2.0031|issn=0021-910X|url-access=subscription}}</ref> Later, Yongle Emperor of the Ming dynasty moved the capital at his power base in Beijing.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Wang|first=Yuan-Kang|title=Harmony and war: Confucian culture and Chinese power politics|date=2011|publisher=Columbia University Press|isbn=978-0-231-52240-3|location=New York|pages=101–144|oclc=695655086}}</ref>

== Language == Central Plains Mandarin (or Zhongyuan Mandarin) is the major language and native tongue spoken in the Zhongyuan region. It is a variety of Mandarin Chinese, formed and developed gradually based on the standard pronunciations of Mandarin and its predecessor, Yayan.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-11-30|title=History of the Mandarin language|url=https://goeastmandarin.com/history-of-the-mandarin-language/|access-date=2021-05-17|website=GoEast Mandarin|language=en-US}}</ref>

In the Yuan dynasty, the rime book ''Zhongyuan Yinyun'' (Rhymes of the Central Plains) written by Zhou Deqing reflected the standard pronunciation of Early Mandarin. Some linguists argue that the Early Mandarin recorded in ''Zhongyuan Yinyun'' was based on the pronunciation standards derived from the Luoyang and Bianliang dialects of Zhongyuan, which had been prevalent in the Song dynasty.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Coblin|first=W. South|date=2000|title=A Brief History of Mandarin|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/606615|journal=Journal of the American Oriental Society|volume=120|issue=4|pages=537–552|doi=10.2307/606615|jstor=606615|issn=0003-0279|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

In modern China, Central Plains Mandarin is mainly used in Henan, Shandong, Anhui, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Gansu, and Hebei. The population of native Central Plains Mandarin speakers is approximately 124 million.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=He|first1=Wei|last2=贺巍|date=2005|title=中原官话分区(稿) Classification / Distribution of Middle Area Mandarin (Zhongyuan Guanhua)|url=https://eng.oversea.cnki.net/kcms/detail/detail.aspx?recid=&FileName=FYZA200502005&DbName=CJFD2005&DbCode=CJFD&uid=WEEvREcwSlJHSldTTEYzVTFPU25OUDlESTJNTkxOSzEzVGh4WEQxMFVoST0=$9A4hF_YAuvQ5obgVAqNKPCYcEjKensW4IQMovwHtwkF4VYPoHbKxJw!!|journal=Dialect|issue=2|pages=136–140|issn=0257-0203|archive-date=2021-05-17|access-date=2021-05-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210517065429/https://eng.oversea.cnki.net/kcms/detail/detail.aspx?recid=&FileName=FYZA200502005&DbName=CJFD2005&DbCode=CJFD&uid=WEEvREcwSlJHSldTTEYzVTFPU25OUDlESTJNTkxOSzEzVGh4WEQxMFVoST0=$9A4hF_YAuvQ5obgVAqNKPCYcEjKensW4IQMovwHtwkF4VYPoHbKxJw!!|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In terms of tone, the key characteristics of modern Central Plains Mandarin are: The neutral and aspirated voiced initial consonants of entering tone in Early Mandarin are now pronounced as the first tone (high tone), and voiced initial consonants of entering tone in Early Mandarin are now pronounced as the second tone (rising tone).<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=He|first1=Wei|last2=贺巍|date=2005|title=中原官话分区(稿) Classification / Distribution of Middle Area Mandarin (Zhongyuan Guanhua)|url=https://eng.oversea.cnki.net/kcms/detail/detail.aspx?recid=&FileName=FYZA200502005&DbName=CJFD2005&DbCode=CJFD&uid=WEEvREcwSlJHSldTTEYzVTFPU25OUDlESTJNTkxOSzEzVGh4WEQxMFVoST0=$9A4hF_YAuvQ5obgVAqNKPCYcEjKensW4IQMovwHtwkF4VYPoHbKxJw!!|journal=Dialect|issue=2|pages=136–140|issn=0257-0203|archive-date=2021-05-17|access-date=2021-05-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210517065429/https://eng.oversea.cnki.net/kcms/detail/detail.aspx?recid=&FileName=FYZA200502005&DbName=CJFD2005&DbCode=CJFD&uid=WEEvREcwSlJHSldTTEYzVTFPU25OUDlESTJNTkxOSzEzVGh4WEQxMFVoST0=$9A4hF_YAuvQ5obgVAqNKPCYcEjKensW4IQMovwHtwkF4VYPoHbKxJw!!|url-status=dead}}</ref>

== Notes == {{notelist}}

== References == {{reflist}}

{{Regions and cities of China}} Category:Central China Category:Han Chinese Category:Landforms of Hebei Category:Landforms of Henan Category:Landforms of Shandong Category:Landforms of Shanxi Category:Landforms of Shaanxi Category:North China Plain Category:Plains of China Category:Regions of China Category:Yellow River